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Effectiveness of Sanctions Questioned

Iran’s $160 billion value of trade during the past Iranian year (ended March 20) shows that the country has continued to interact with the world and that the western sanctions [imposed against Tehran over its nuclear energy program] proved ineffective, deputy minister of mine, industry and trade Mojtaba Khosrowtaj said on Monday. “Sanctions only increase the price of finished products,” the Iranian official was quoted by IRNA as saying. He called on the authorities to expand Iran’s trade horizons and simultaneously rely more on the domestic capabilities. Iran’s major trade partners over the past year were the UAE, China, Iraq, India, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.